Jesus is my life.

today we're reading 2 Corinthians 5:16-21.

read today's text

Have you ever been told that you're a little too excited about something? 
I unfortunately regularly 'go too hard' at things.
I'm a naturally energetic person, so it's really easy for me to get excited.
However, have you ever been told that you do too much as a Christian?

yikes. 

Growing up, I actually would call people out for being too involved in their relationship with Jesus. 
To me, they devoted too much time to Jesus and in turn, were WAY too Jesus crazy. 
Looking back, I was so lost. 
I had convinced myself that being a Christian was a side-hustle. 
That praising Jesus with every aspect of your life was too much. 
​Wow. 

Why do we do this?

I think that we are too consumed in what the world will think of us. 
We are too consumed in how the world will see our devotion to the Lord. 
Honestly, we're too afraid to let go of the life we had in order to fully devote our lives to the Lord. 

Devoting a life means a lot more than we think. 

I genuinely think that we don't foster the understanding of what devoting a life to the Lord means. 
Let's say for example that you say "basketball is my life". 
If basketball is your life, you begin to adjust your life to include basketball as much as possible.
You spend as much time as you can practicing and honing in on your skills to be better at basketball. 
You dedicate resources to gaining tools that help you improve. 
You try and join as many groups in order to be better at basketball. 
​Now here comes the hard part:

Why don't we have the same energy towards devoting our lives to Jesus?

I know it's a little uncomfortable to address this in our hearts.
But the fact of the matter is we simply do not have the right attitude towards our devotion to Jesus. 
Why is it so hard to intentionally devote our lives to Christ?
Why is it so uncomfortable to adjust your life to include Jesus as much as possible. 
Why is it so uncommon to spend as much time as possible honing in on being like Jesus? 

What would happen if we rededicated our lives to Christ today?

I believe in rededicating our lives to Jesus as much as possible. 
It doesn't have to be a one time summer camp affair. 
In all honesty, I find myself having to rededicate my life to Christ often. 
Why?
I realize that I fall short in dedicating my LIFE to Him. 
I tend to think that if I call myself a Christian enough, I'm fine. 
I think that as long as I go to small group and church every week, I'm fine. 
I think that as long as I wear a cross necklace and repost the right things on my story, I'm fine. 

I'm so glad that life with Jesus is more than that though. 

I'm so glad that the Lord personally pursues us. 
I'm so glad that the Lord wants a relationship with us. 
I'm so glad that freedom in Jesus means so much more than that. 
​I'm so glad that we can never do too much to pursue the Lord. 
If you're looking for a sign to dedicate your life to Jesus or re-dedicate your life to Him: DO IT.
I saw a TikTok today that concluded with:
"An all-consuming life with Jesus is freeing and it's so fun too". 
Life with Jesus, an all-consuming life with Jesus, is so much fun. 
It's so much fun knowing that the Lord is constantly pursuing you and fighting for you; that even in your darkest battles and trials the God who handcrafted the galaxy is guiding us by hand into His presence. 
Today I'm proud to say that Jesus is my life, and that I am rededicating my life to a freeing and all-consuming fellowship with Him in which I know will be filled with fun even in my darkest hours. 
So I'll leave you with this: 

May the life you dedicate to Jesus be equally freeing, all-consuming, and fun. ​